Some friends and I dined at Pod Food a few weeks ago for dinner using a Livingsocial voucher which discounted our 5 course degustation to about $60 per person. The last time I was there was for a 4 course breakfast so it’s been a while since I’ve sampled their non-breakfast items. We were seated outdoors on a warm summer’s night with a cool breeze in the air. I was the last to arrive when the set menu was brought out to us. We had the option of adding 2 additional courses for an extra $25. I normally would have said yes to that but I wasn’t particularly hungry that night, and neither were the others, so we passed on this offer and stuck to the 5 courses.

Course 1 – watermelon gazpacho with compressed tomato, local creme fraiche and rye. I’m not a fan of gazpacho but I was interested in the watermelon element in it. Unfortunately I couldn’t taste much watermelon but it must have contributed to the sweeter gazpacho. The crushed up bits of rye provided a crunchy aspect to the cold soup, and the thick creme fraiche evened it out so the gazpacho wasn’t too acidic.

Course 2 – Sashimi tuna with maple soy glaze, avocado foam and wild rice. The small cubes of sashimi tuna were divine mixed with the avocado foam. The puffed rice on top with black and white sesame seeds added a lovely crunchy sesame flavour to the dish. Everything worked well together and I really enjoyed this course.

Course 3 – Pulled pork hock with chilli jam, soft egg, corn, togarashi popcorn. This was corn served 3 ways with corn puree, charred corn and popped corn. The pork hock was so very tender and light. There was no marinade or sauce making the overall dish very clean and healthy.

Course 4 – Ricotta zucchini flower with pumpkin risotto, fennel chutney and pepitas. The ricotta-stuffed zucchini flower was covered in a lovely thin batter. The crunchy fried pepitas were the highlight for me which were beautifully seasoned adding spice and saltiness to the dish.

Course 5 – coconut parfait with cured pineapple, burnt butter crumb and mango sorbet. This dish had cured pineapple as well as cured pineapple caramel which tasted fantastic, but I found it overpowered the very light coconut parfait. I still enjoyed this dessert and it looked great too.

Pod Food never disappoints. Each element of food is well thought out and presented beautifully. Service is always excellent – polite, unobtrusive and professional. Linen napkins were placed on laps, and refolded if a person excused themselves to go to the bathroom. Tap water was refilled regularly without having to ask for a top up. Gluten free allergies were taken into consideration for the two gluten intolerant diners at the table. Noise levels were on the quiet side so you could hear each other speak. The atmosphere is casual enough that you can dine in with your family or mates, but also special enough to bring a hot date.

As we discovered, there’s even a possum that regularly visits hanging out on the eaves of the building.

Pod Food is at 12 Beltana Road in Pialligo. Open Thursday to Monday for lunch and dinner, and weekends for breakfast.

Foodgasm 8.5/10
Value for money 8/10
Service 9/10

FPJ score 25.5/30

If you want more random photos and updates about food, I’m on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram